Dodgers manager Dave Roberts issues hilarious warning to Lakers fan over Shohei Ohtani interest

Los Angeles Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter is reportedly buying a $10 billion stake in the LA Lakers, after the Buss family agreed to sell a majority stake on Wednesday.

Following the announcement, fans on social media have been in a frenzy, sharing pictures of Shohei Ohtani in a Lakers jersey. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had a hilarious reaction to it ahead of their game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

"Hands off of Shohei,” Roberts said to the media. “They got enough superstars wearing the purple and gold. Leave him alone.”

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Roberts pointed out that the Lakers have already got a Japanese star on their team, saying they'll have Ohtani take care of Japan's representation for the Dodgers.

"I think Rui Hachimura is taking care of the Japanese side of things,” Roberts said. “We’ll have Shohei on the baseball side.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts blasts Padres pitcher for hitting Shohei Ohtani

Dave Roberts was furious with the umpires after Shohei Ohtani was hit by Padres starter Randy Vásquez's pitch on Tuesday. He confronted the umpires and was ejected for his outburst.

Following the game, Roberts alleged that Vasquez intentionally hit Ohtani as Fernando Tatis Jr was hit by a pitch earlier in the game.

“Vásquez took one shot at him. And then hit him again,” Roberts said. “It’s very hard to miss that bad with a right-handed pitcher. For me, if you’re going to do it, own it. For me, if they feel that’s warranted on their side, part of baseball, that’s what they feel.

"I give him credit because they hit him in the leg. Own it, and we move on. It’s not a misfire. I do feel it was intentional. Again, that’s part of baseball, which we all understand.”

After Ohtani was struck on his right leg, the umpires issued warnings to both teams. However, Roberts wanted clarification on the warning.

“I’m very big on common sense,” Roberts said. “And so for me, for them to issue warnings, I feel it’s common sense for me to ask their thought process and hold them accountable for their decision. That’s all I wanted to know. And I was going to stand aside.”

The Dodgers won 8-6 on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in the four-game series against their NL West rivals.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash